University of Oregon
Washington
Ducks 'Chap' the Huskies, 81-73
01/22/06 | Women's Basketball
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- Sophomore point guard Kaela Chapdelaine scored a career-high 18 points to lift Oregon to an 81-73 victory over Washington on Saturday night before 4,352 fans at McArthur Court.
"After Thursday, we weren't pleased with how we played and the coaches challenged us, and we really wanted to step up to the challenge," Chapdelaine said, alluding to the Ducks' lackluster win over last-place
Chelsea Wagner and Gabrielle Richards added 13 points apiece and Kedzie Gunderson had 11 for the Ducks (12-6 overall, 3-5 Pac-10), who shot a season-best 56 percent from the field, including 12-of-20 on three-point attempts.
"We did a really good job this week of preparing for them, and we came out with a lot of fire and intensity," said Gunderson, who made her sixth start of the season (all UO wins).
Cameo Hicks led the Huskies with 16 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Andrea Plouffe and Jill Bell each had 13 points for
The first half turned into a three-point shooting contest, with the Huskies connecting on 8-of-15 shots from three-point range and
“In the first half both teams were shooting the ball well, but we gave them too many open 3's,” Gunderson said. “Coming out in the second half, we wanted to challenge their shooters and tighten up defensively, and we were able to do it.”
Hicks hit a trey just before the buzzer to give
"I was fired up at halftime because I thought we were letting an opportunity slip by us," said UO head coach Bev Smith. "And the team responded with what I think was our best 20 minutes of the year."
Chapdelaine, averaging 3.2 points this season, hit another three-pointer with
"I feel really happy for Kaela because she has had a lot of pressure put on her as a sophomore point guard to come in here and run this team," Smith said.
Dominique Banks' jumper cut the Huskies' deficit to 69-63, but the Ducks pulled away with an 8-2 run to take a 77-65 lead with
QUACK TRACKS: The Ducks used their seventh different starting lineup of the season and third in three games ... SO G Kaela Chapdelaine set a career high with five three-pointers ... Chapdelaine became the sixth Duck to lead the team in scoring this season ... Despite trailing by six at the break, Oregon's first-half FG percentage (57.1%) tied for the team's second highest mark of the season ... The win was UO's first against a team that had been ranked in the top 25 at some point this season.
